February 19, 2010 - See NOT-OD-10-056 Review Considerations for Applications and Awards under the New NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell ResearchDecember 2, 2009 - See NOT-OD-10-020 First Human Embryonic Stem Cells Approved for use under the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

July 15, 2009 See NOT-OD-09-123: Status of Applications and Awards under the New NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

On August 23, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction in the matter of Dr. James L. Sherley, et. al. v. Kathleen Sebelius, et al. the National Institutes of Health that enjoins defendants, including the NIH, “and their officers, employees, and agents . . . from implementing, applying or taking any action whatsoever pursuant to the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research (“Guidelines”), 74 Fed Reg. 32,170 (July 7, 2009), or otherwise funding research involving human embryonic stem cells as contemplated by the Guidelines.” As a result of the Court’s Order, the National Institutes of Health hereby issues the following notice regarding applications for grants and contracts that involve human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), and other matters related to implementation of the 2009 NIH Guidelines for Research Using Stem Cells:

Any further NIH activity to implement, apply or act pursuant to the NIH Guidelines is hereby suspended until further notice.

Issuance of all pending competing, and noncompeting continuation hESC awards and contracts is suspended until further notice.

The peer review of all pending competing hESC applications and proposals is suspended until further notice.

The NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry is not accepting submissions of information about hESC lines for the purpose of establishing eligibility for funding under the NIH Guidelines until further notice. All review of hESC lines for inclusion on the Registry under the NIH Guidelines is suspended until further notice.

Grant awards that were funded on or before August 23, 2010, are not affected by the preliminary injunction order, and award recipients may continue to expend the funds awarded to them prior to the date of the injunction.